Wild WILD Card Weekend

I'm sure that title has been used in many publications, but how else can you describe the exciting turnout from the 4 NFL playoff games that occurred this Saturday and Sunday?

The weekend began Saturday with the Cincinnati Bengals facing off against the NY Jets. The Jets started off the game slowly, but their defense was able to hold the Bengals to the only touchdown they received in the 1st quarter until late in the 4th quarter. The Jets run game decided to put on a repeat performance of the previous week and provide opportunities for 24 points.
Final score: Jets 24, Bengals 14

I know I picked the Bengals, but I did put a disclaimer, saying that if the Jets actually won, I wouldn't be surprised in the least bit. I didn't expect the Bengals' offense to be entirely suffocated the way they were last week, yet I did look for the Jets to come out and play as hard as they could. They are the dark horse this NFL postseason.

The Jets will play against the San Diego Chargers Sunday at 4:40pm EST.

Next, the Philadelphia Eagles were set to play the second rematch of the weekend against the Dallas Cowboys. After Philly fans claimed that the Eagles didn't try last week and will come out harder this week, their words seemed to have been true. I mean, the Eagles DID tie the game at 7 all when Michael Vick entered the game for a play.

Just because Dallas had not won a playoff game in 13 years, however, didn't guarantee the Eagles a win. The Cowboys had something to prove: that their late-season run was not a fluke and that they CAN, in fact, win a playoff game.
Final score: Cowboys 34, Eagles 14

Easy as that. The Eagles defense looked entirely weak, as Dallas got about 200 rushing yards and 244 passing yards on them.

Now that that the 13-year playoff curse is off the Cowboys, is it possible that they can use this to go all the way? Well, they'll have to go through the Minnesota Vikings Sunday afternoon at 1:00pm EST.

Today's Sunday match-ups weren't about to disappoint either.

The Baltimore Raven and the New England Patriots was a no-brainer. The Pats were just too much for the erratic Ravens, whose impeccable defense was only a fable from about 3 years ago...

...Not so fast.

The Ravens were up 24-0 by the start of the 2nd quarter. I woke up from my slumber, only to get up close and squint at the television just to make sure that the score was indeed, 24-0. I know I picked Baltimore to win, but I mean, who expects the Patriots would be losing in Foxboro in a playoff game to the Ravens.

Despite looks of the Patriots still hanging around, and the Ravens not scoring another touchdown until the 4th quarter and missing the 2-point conversion on their final touchdown, New England lost. Yes.
Final score: Ravens 33, Patriots 14.

I wonder what Pats coach Bill Belichick is going to blame this one on. It's clearly not the turf this time... Nonetheless, after exacting revenge on the Pats, the Ravens will be put to a much bigger test in the Indianapolis Colts Saturday at 8:15, whom they also almost beat this season in a field goal-filled battle. We'll see how well resting the players fared for the Colts (I will be somewhere to watch this game for my birthday party and a Zeta Founders Day gift).

Finally, the Green Bay Packers and the Arizona Cardinals wanted to blow all of the previous games out of the water and make all kinds of history with their game.

Arizona had taken complete control of the first half of the game, and it seemed like another Dallas/Philly game to be seen. Now, I chose the Packers for victory today, so I had some inkling of faith that this wasn't how the game would turn out. The Packers were MUCH better than this, being the second hottest NFC team going into the playoffs behind Dallas.

So the 3rd quarter begins and the Cardinals went up 31-10 to make matters worse for my pickings. But Green Bay didn't lay down.

I'm in the middle of the meeting while getting scores to my phone, and lo-and-behold, the Packers have almos tied this game up, down only 31-24! Arizona went up 38-24, but Green Bay found its way to a tie. Arizona went up again 45, but the Packers tied it AGAIN with 1:52 left... Overtime.

It looked as if the Packers were going in for the win, and I would have 3 out of 4 picks correct, but then "The Legend of Kurt Warner" continued, as the Cards batted the ball from Rodgers' hands and took it to the end zone.

Final score: Cardinals 51,Packers 45

This game turned out to be the highest scoring NFL playoff game in history. I really did think the Packers could have won the game, riding on that momentum and Aaron Rodgers' leadership of the team. The Cardinals, as victors, will be facing the New Orleans Saints Saturday at 4:30pm EST.

I certainly hope you all are ready for another week of predicted wildness. Here are my Reckless Picks. Ready?

Chargers over Jets
Cowboys over Vikings - disclaimer: I wouldn't be surprised if the opposite occurred
Colts over Ravens
Cardinals over Saints

Yea, pretty random again. I just like to pick for the heck of it *shrug*.

Finally, quote of the day: "There was sarcasm in my Shaq-tweet. He is as powerful as Shawn Bradley." In reference in a Twitter comment about Shaq's "double-double"... I died. Most overrated stat in basketball.


Oh and don't forget, if there's something you'd like to tell me about the site in general or ask a question, you can put it in the guestbook to the right.

And I thought I should share, that I have been accepted as the Washington Capitals writer for one of the top sites for in-depth hockey news and discussion, The Hockey Writers, also known as THW! I'm beyond excited to write to cover a team that I have followed for many years now. However, don't worry, I will still be active here on Crashing the Net :-).

Catch yall later ;-)

NFL Week 17 - Last week of the season :-(

The last week of the NFL season has come and gone. After all of the crazy scenarios that were possible (especially in the AFC) and the debacle of who's to be rested and such, the playoff picture has been set.

With the real games starting this coming Saturday, what ended up happening was that 3 of the 4 of these final match-ups will be the same match-ups that we will be seeing this coming weekend. The teams lined up are as follows:

Saturday:
NY Jets vs. Cincinnati Bengals
Philadelphia Eagles vs. Dallas Cowboys

Sunday:
Baltimore Ravens vs. New England Patriots
Green Bay Packers vs. Arizona Cardinals

*Indianapolis Colts, San Diego, New Orleans Saints, and Minnesota Vikings with a 1st round bye.

Even though these are the folks who potentially have a shot at winning the championship, there are a couple of honorable mentions that I would like to give out before we get to who wins real stuff...

Honorable mentions

Houston Texans: They finished this season 9-7 today after defeating the Patriots 34-27. This would be the first time they finished over .500 since they entered the League in 2002. Then they decided to do it against the Pats, while also almost beating the Colts earlier on in the season. The Texans also almost made the playoffs for the first time, doing their part to win, and only needed the Jets to lose to the Bengals tonight. Their QB Matt Schaub has had more passing yards than anyone else this season as well. Even though Houston is staying at home this season, they've come a long way, so watch out in the next few years.

Atlanta Falcons: I didn't realize this until it was pointed out, but the Falcons never had back-to-back winning seasons until last season's 11-5 record and this season's 9-7 record. Not even during the Vick days did the team have 2 consecutive over-.500 seasons. But regardless, Matt Ryan however has silently improved year by year and has made the Falcons competitive. It might have been more noticeable had the Saints not overshadowed their division with pretending to go undefeated throughout the season. Nonetheless, Atlanta won't be a team to be reconciled with, especially if the balance of power allows only 1 team from the NFC East in the future.


Carolina Panthers: They were not over .500 this year, or even in the running for a playoff spot. But even after their atrocious start to the year, the Panthers finish the season 8-8. They could have chosen to try and fight the Lions and the Rams for the #1 draft pick. They could have fired coach John Fox for losing, or the players could have resigned and finished poorly. But the Panthers stayed with it, and played hard in their final games - including beating Minnesota 26-7, and giving the Giants the business and taking them out the playoffs essentially by a score of 41-9. I will say, however, that Jake Delhomme's days might be over in Carolina.

Kyle Orton: And finally, I would like to give honorable mention to Mr. Kyle Orton, QB of the Denver Broncos. How the hell this man has remained in the NFL, is beyond me. It's not even like he's been in and out of starting for teams, but since he was starter for the Bears, he has been named a starting QB. In my mind, after playing at Purdue, he was chillen on the street, and Da Bears came around and asked him to toss a football. He does. And then they were like, you have a pretty decent spiral and you can throw far. We need a new QB since Grossman didn't work out. Come with us. And that was how Mr. Orton became an NFL QB. Then he showed that he failed, and then went to Denver. Only to not be the biggest reason Denver fails, because in fact their coach took that honor. Mr. Josh McDaniels chose to constantly call out his players, especially his personal nemesis, WR Brandon Marshall, and refused to coach the team properly. Thus, Kyle Orton got away with being a failure, and he will probably remain the Broncos' starter. Gosh man, how do you do it? You go, boy!

The Honorable Honorable Mention goes to Aaron Rodgers. Not just because I want to put a picture of him up here, but because he was able to have the 4th highest QB rating this season, and get his team to the playoffs, AND throw for only 7 INTs (2nd lowest) with the offensive line he had. Sure, he was only sacked like, 50 times, along with being rushed and hit and hurried and whatever other action done to him by opposing defenses... but he definitely got his team where they needed to be, throwing for 30 touchdowns and allowing them to have a shot at the Super Bowl. What a stud... QB.

I don't know what it is but I like this look over the clean cut one... We can see his toughness with the skull cap and beard

I guess as a side honor, we can congratulate the St. Louis Rams on the #1 pick, and the Detroit Lions for having 3 wins on the year....

... Oh and the Cleveland Browns for having new life - 4 straight wins and Mike Holmgren as their new president. Maybe life won't be so bad in the Dog Pound...

...And I am leaving the Washington Redskins out of this. They've endured enough this year.

Playoff Picture

Many people I have noticed feel as though most of the playoff teams completely mailed it in this last game of the season, knowing that they were going to the playoffs the following weekend i.e. the Eagles, Bengals, Patriots, and the obvious ones, the Saints and the Colts.

Of course that was the case with the Colts, who oh-so upset the hell out of the world when they mailed in their season the 2nd to final week of the season, and to a degree, the Saints, although I do think the Saints' first 2 loses were genuine. Either way, I agree, some teams did put it away and left it for the playoffs.

But if you seriously think the Eagles didn't want home-field advantage, I don't know what you're smoking but it must be good. Dallas, having exorcised the December/late season demons this season to regain their NFC East champ status, has a good shot of repeating a win on Saturday. Of course, I wouldn't say the Cowboys will shut out the Eagles, but the Cowboys have shown that they might be able to get over that playoff game hump. We will see.

The Bengals and Jets game could also be a mail in. I might have to agree with that one somewhat, seeing as the Jets wouldn't have scored that many points had Cincinnati really tried. But the Jets do have a lot of confidence and momentum riding into the playoffs. They have a pretty decent defense, and with one of the NFL's premier cornerbacks Darrelle Revis, they might be able to do the "impossible" (according to now Chad JOHNSON again) and stop the Bengals offense, the way they got to the playoffs.

I hope that the Colts didn't forget to play football, because even though I'm still baffled at how the world got so upset at their blatant refusal to have an undefeated season, I still am not sure how the way their last two games are going to help them. While I don't personally feel like an NFL team cheated me of something I should have, I am concerned for the fact that the Colts are probably facing more pressure to win the Super Bowl than had they not tried their antics to "rest players". Having technically 3 weeks off before the playoffs is not always a good thing.

Oh, you want predictions? Very quickly, I will call the winners of the 1st round of the NFL playoffs: Bengals, Cowboys, Ravens, and the Packers. Kind of arbitrary, right?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hope you enjoyed this NFL season as much as I did. I thought it was one of the more entertaining years in football recently. Definitely looking forward to the playoffs now. May the best team win!

Catholic University vs. Emory and Henry

So yesterday I had to travel with a few others all the way from American University to Catholic University to cover a football game. Catholic played this school I had never heard of, Emory and Henry University in a close game, but ended up losing 13-1o.

I went in, and it was, an... interesting set of hours spent there. This was my first experience at a Division 3 football game, and it is VERY obvious of the difference in a D1 football program and a D3 program.

First of all, nobody knew where the stadium was! These were students who had NO IDEA how to get there. Now I understand that not everybody can enjoy the beauties of football, but as a student on YOUR OWN CAMPUS, I feel like you should at least know the buildings and landmarks on your campus at this point of the year - freshman or not.

Secondly, after the trek (oh man was it a trek) to the stadium, it was not much of a "stadium", but a field - akin to the field at my small, private former high school: there was one side of bleachers of about 10 rows, and the field. At least there was a small press box though on the top.

Mind you, this whole time, there was only one guy in charged of ALL the athletics on Catholic's campus, and he was EXTREMELY helpful in our research and access to the team and its stats. *shout out to him* But he really wa over at the cross-country event, then had to run over to the football game to help us out a little bit.

And in the game itself, the playcalling wasn't very diverse. Both teams stuck with the quarterback draw, along with a couple more running plays. Any passes didn't go for more than 10 yards, if they ever passed. Even the "Hail Mary" at the end of the game by Catholic only reached mid-field, instead of hauling it to the endzone.

Nonetheless, it wasn't awful. Big ups to D3 programs for even having football... unlike SOME campuses in the country.............. (no names).

When I returned home, I sat down and wrote the corresponding article for the game to beat the deadline (there will be a video explaining the behind-the-scenes action). For your viewing pleasure, I have posted it with this blog:

Despite Catholic University's best defensive effort all season long, they were unable to capitalize on multiple offensive opportunities, causing Catholic to lose 13-10 to Emory and Henry University.

Contrary to the final score and other offensive mishaps though, Catholic did not play poorly either.

Although Catholic gave up the first touchdown of the game, they blocked the extra point and were able to score the next 10 points through one field goal and a touchdown run in by John O'Brien.

The Cardinals then were able to stop Emory and Henry's offense for another drive, and seemed to have the momentum to keep their opponent down.

Early into the third quarter though, the Wasps came out strong and were able to score a touchdown. But even with the lead, Emory and Henry could not penetrate the Catholic defense for the rest of the game.

Catholic actually led in time of possession in the second and third quarter, and was able to march down the field into Emory and Henry territory up to the redzone.

However, the mistakes made in the Cardinals' inability to create opportunities deep in the Wasps' territory and ultimately to score points kept them down and eventually gave them a difficult loss.

One of the most outstanding mistake for the Cardinals was the field goal kicking. Catholic kicker Brendan Deluca missed four field goals, including three from very short distances and one with 1:09 left in the game from 40 yards.

Nonetheless, teammates seemed to be sympathetic towards Deluca's failed field goal attempts. Receiver Mike Smith, who had four catches for 58 yards, said that the missed field goals were not as much of a factor in the way the rest of the team played.

"Not at all; we still played hard," Smith said. "If you're not on the field goal team, there's nothing you can do about it. You can just watch and hope he makes it. It was just a bad day for him."

Regardless of the tough season, the team continues to have confidence, especially in the coach. When asked about whether head coach Dave Dunn deserves the bad rap he received from the fans today, Smith commented, saying their coach "puts everybody in the best position to win." Smith continued, "When you look at the yards, we dominated on offense and defense, and everybody makes a mistake. You're coaching on the fly."

Catholic focused on the positives from the game, and noted that it was just an "off-day" for the team today in reaching their full potential to win against Emory and Henry.

"It went really well for us actually," Smith said about the game. "We played hard on every aspect of the game. It's just that it came down to little mistakes, and when we got down to the endzone, we couldn't capitalize, and out kicking game wasn't at our best."

Dunn further elaborated on the things that catholic did to give themselves a chance to win.

We followed the game plan up until we got to the redzone. We outgained them to up to double their yardage and didn't turn the ball over." Dunn also did not forget to mention that Cardinals held the number one player in rushing yards in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC), Caleb Jennings, to under 100 yards.

Their biggest faults in today's game according to the coach were "mental mistakes."

Catholic's next game is against Guilford University at home. When asked about what could be changed, Dunn said, "We're just young in the skilled spots on the offense." Dunn also added that they lost many players from last year on defense as well; thus, making the Cardinals an "inexperienced team" versus a young team."

Smith said simply, "We just have to want it in the end."

However, Dunn isn't going to focus on the four botched field goald, the missed opportunities in the redzone, the fans' displeasure, or even next weekends's game or next season. "My goal is to have a good practice tomorrow."

2009 World Series Game 3

The offensive floodgates finally opened last night as the Yankees defeated the Phillies 8-5 at Citizens Bank Park. (No I didn't catch the game because I went out for Halloween).

However, I am watching toniight, as the Phillies try to even up the series at home in Game 4. Joe Blanton will pitch for the Phillies, resting Cliff Lee, and CC Sabathia on short rest will be on the mound for the Yankees.

I mean, for my prediction to be correct, the Phillies would have to win the next 3 games in a row... To be honest, I don't see that happening. But I can see them winning in 7 games. I think in order for either team to win actually, it will have to go to 7 games.

Both teams are just so evenly matched in good pitching and offense (numbers wise) that it will have to be a punch-for-punch series. I think the Phillies are better though in base running and hitting anything other than home runs than the Yankees; hence, why I picked them to win.

Side Note...

THE EAGLES ARE GOIN INNNNN!!!!! Like, I don't even like the Eagles, and usually, I hate anything affiliated with Philadelphia, but I do enjoy a good football game. The Eagles at the end of the first half are up 30-7 agaisnt the New York Giants with mad takeaways and passing it down the field.

Then again, I might just be excited because I'm pulling for the Phillies against the Yankees.

I'll cut the Redskins fans some slack today... they have a bye week. LOL!

At the same time, my team, the Cowboys just went up 21-10 by the end of the first half against the Seattle Seahawks. Which makes me happier.

Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed.

*Posted at 2:50pm

NFL Week 1

Of course I'm happy that the Cowboys won, and the Redskins lost, but tell me why I'm still blown at the Bill and Patriots game? LOL!

The complete weekend/weekday opening football is over. I can say with confidence that this has been an entertaining first week for the NFL.

Cowboys 34, Buccaneers 21

To begin, the first game I watched was the Dallas Cowboys and Tampa Bay Buccaneers (because the Cowboys won, they deserve the "boys" back in the name versus the typical Cow[boy]s). Dallas ended up winning 34-21, but they could have won by more. I was displeased with the Cowboys first half performance. The offense did absolutely nothing, and was not helped by a missed pass interference that should have been called on Ronde Barber.

Dallas' defense wasn't doing much better in the first half as well, with Cadillac Williams on the Bucs giving them hell.

The second half was much better for the Cowboys though. Tony Romo turned out to have a pretty nice day with 344 yards passing and all of his passes for touchdowns went deep - over 40 yards... Imagine the winning score for Dallas, had they a better first half and didn't give up 14 points in the 4th quarter...

For the Bucs though, Williams was real nice out there, and Byron Leftwich had a pretty good showing as well, especially for being Byron Leftwich.

Giants 23, Redskins 17

Just about the Washington Redskins game, the New York Giants won 23-17, but the game was not as close as the score suggested.

By the 2nd quarter, the Giants ended up with a 17-0 lead, with the latest touchdown coming from a fumble recovery by the Giants.

The Redskins had a slightly better showing in the second half, but could not create any sort of rhythm on offense against the Giants' defense.

Point in case: after a 35-yard run by Clinton Portis on the Redskins, the Skins could only follow up with 50 more rushing yards the whole game.

Of course, the reaction suggests that Jason Campbell still can't get the Skins over the hump, but aside from the fact that a small (REALLY small) part of me actually hopes he succeeds in a way, I think he did all right with what he was faced with.

The Skins are not the team to beat in the NFC East in my eyes. They were facing a team that could very well take the division. After this, the Skins go on to play a stretch of games where they play teams that have failed at being any kind of good the past few seasons. The Giants will move on the the Cowboys.

Patriots 25, Bills 24

Most people are going to say the New England/Boston Patriots won this game in dramatic fashion 25-24, but I'm going to go out on a limb, and say the Buffalo Bills lost this one in ultimate screw-up fashion.

I'll admit, I missed the first part of the game because of the Juan Martin Del Potro and Roger Federer's tennis match where Federer lost in 5 sets was on where I was eating dinner. Granted, it was the US Open final, and the underdog ended up winning in a long match, but I still feel as though NFL football should have been on the TV.

Nonetheless, technology proved to be a savior, and I got first half stats before being able to return to my place of living to watch the second half. The Bills were leading 14-10 at halftime, and when I finally got back to my room, they were up 17-10.

Terrell Owens only had one catch at this point as well. Which led me to believe that the Bills could really win this game since they were able to utilize their other parts of the offense. It really looked good there.

It looked even better when Buffalo got the 24-13 lead and it was about 2 minutes to go in the game.

Until they gave up another touchdown and fumbled the ball deep in their territory after the kickoff, giving the Pats excellent field position to get the last and final touchdown... all of a sudden, it was 25-24 Patriots.

It wasn't quite over as the Bills began their final drive with about 50 seconds to go. That is ample time to create a situation to at least get into decent field goal position.

However, poor time management and multiple sacks proved costly for Buffalo.

Therefore, the Patriots did not win the game (also provided that Tom Brady wasn't as great as he normally is), but the Bills CHOKED. Somebody please perform the Heimlech Manuever - the Bills keep chocking. This is now the 12th straight time the Patriots defeated the Bills.

Tsk tsk... And I was really pulling for Buffalo...

Chargers 24, Raiders 20

This game was another situation where there was an underdog team winning, had the lead way late into the game, and then lost it even later to lose. The Oakland Raiders also choked to lose 24-20 to the San Diego Chargers.

Despite the score at the end of the first half, the Raiders seemed to dominate on defense early on, creating multiple turnovers and only allowing the Chargers 77 rushing yards. New addition Richard Seymour ended up with 2 sacks and 6 tackles, showing that he was ready to play and improve the Oakland defense.

Oakland lost the lead in the 4th quarter, but regained it, scoring a late touchdown with about 2:40 to go in the game. All they had to do was to continue their showing on defense that they had in the beginning of the 1st quarter.

Yet, the Raiders failed when it mattered, giving the Chargers 14 points in the 4th quarter and allowing Phillip Rivers to complete 6 out of 7 passes on the game-winning 84-yard drive.

The winning drive for San Diego left only 18 seconds on the clock, with which Oakland had to work. JaMarcus Russell threw a desperation pass, only to have it intercepted.

Oakland not only choked like Buffalo, but they ALSO have been defeated by their opponent 12 times in a row. The hell is THAT about?!

Side(line) Notes - haha!

Some other notes about the weekend/weekday...

Donovan McNabb got injured, which, to be honest, is no surprise to me. He is one of the more fragile quarterbacks; as good as he is and as much as I would pick McNabb over a lot of quarterbacks.

In response, the Philadelphia Eagles quickly sign Jeff Garcia and try to make roster space for him. Garcia knows the offense, having been in Philadelphia before and his last time with the Eagles, he led them to the playoffs. So it would be a good move to have him around.

Just to note though, there's another guy who, by Week 3, could play a little bit, and his name is Mike Vick. However, the choice to sign Garcia clearly states that the Eagles are not ready to have Vick play - I don't blame them after his unsatisfying performaces in the preseason, and the fact that he does need re-adjustment time to the NFL.

But if Vick could play for the Eagles, and actually be successful with them, that would be a pretty nice comeback story for the ages. I believe that regardless of other people's opinions about that...

...Props to the Green Bay Packers though for the comeback win. I couldn't write about it (Come on now! I already did four games and I'm only human!), but that was a REALLY fun game to watch. As for the Bears; step your game up. In fact, all these teams playing and choking - step your game up!..

... And of course, congrats to Juan Martin del Potro on his first US Open win, and on defeating the guy who won the last 5 US Opens... I think his name is something like Roger Federer. You might have heard of him. It is an amazing accomplishment for del Potro - just too bad it competed with Monday Night Football on my end.

... Finally, Mark Sanchez played pretty well Sunday. The End (watch ESPN for the rest of that, they'll be all up on the Sanchez coverage, trust me).


*RIP Patrick Swayze... To Wong Foo (Thanks for Everything Julie Newmar) - most underrated movie ever - sooo funny.